Buyer loses $277,000 deposit

IT WAS supposed to secure his dream home in Sydney's eastern suburbs, but $277,000 has evaporated into thin air.

Property developer Peter Zhu has forfeited his down payment on a luxury property in Bellevue Hill, after failing to stump up the second part of his deposit, according to reports.

While the six-figure sum is more than three times the average Australian salary of $79,721, it is just 5 per cent of the sale price of the Bundurra Rd property, which Mr Zhu agreed to buy for $5.5 million, Fairfax Media reports.

The 1000-square-metre property was marketed as a DA opportunity, with council approval for a four-level mansion with a glass-fronted swimming pool and a tennis court.

It could have made the ultimate trophy home for the businessman, who runs property company LB Group, which is developing a two-tower complex at Gosford's Mariner's Plaza.

According to the listing with Raine & Horne Double Bay, the home is in an "exclusive precinct close to shops and excellent schools", with approved architectural plans "designed to maximise and harbour views" and boast a sunny north aspect.

The plans provide for "ultra spacious family living" with five bedrooms, six bathrooms, spacious living and dining areas, a kitchen, rumpus, games room, gym and a lift.

"Hidden from the street behind a high fence and remote-controlled garage, the property also offers potential to renovate the existing two-level circa 1920s home with a flexible floorplan including three bedrooms, two bathrooms, two living areas, dining room, a study and a big eat-in kitchen," the listing said.

Mr Zhu was last year named as the sponsor of a controversial program of concerts to be held in Sydney and Melbourne celebrating the life of Mao Zedong, the revolutionary dictator and founding father of Chinese communism.

The events, set to mark the 40th anniversary of Chairman Mao's death, were cancelled amid security concerns after community members protested.

The developer first made headlines in 1999 when he took the NSW Government to the High Court over the cancellation of his contract to sell Olympic Club memberships in China in the lead up to the Sydney Olympics. In 2004, Mr Zhu was awarded $4.23 million for wrongful termination of his contract.

He is one of several Chinese buyers to walk away from high-end property deals in recent years, with the most high-profile example that of Cate Blanchett's Hunters Hill mansion, which sold to Richard Mingfeng Gu in 2015 - only to go back on the market and sell for a more conservative $18 million two years later.